November 10, 2025
On Sunday night the Senate took up a procedural vote that will allow the 3 continuing approps bills we sent you last night to get a full house vote, move to the House for the same, and ultimately to the President’s desk for signature. The Continuing Approps bills fully fund the federal government through Jan. 30, 2026. And as of now, there is no binding commitment from Republicans to extend critical ACA tax credits that threaten healthcare coverage for hundreds of millions of Americans. There will be a vote, but nothing is guaranteed and the country could face another federal government shutdown come February 1, 2026.
So, what do Dems get from all of this? Many would say Dems can now move forward with a platform for the midterm elections and beyond that will highlight ‘shameless Republicans’ who (they will say) did not and still do not care about average Americans impacted by the shutdown, the Medicaid cuts in the OBBA, a crisis for millions of Americans that rely on Food Stamps and much more.
According to many pundits analyzing all of this, Leaders Jeffries and Schumer have both taken a symbolic stance against the deal that appears to be materializing, Dems now have the wind at their backs, and the Democratic Party can scream from the rooftops that their party is the only one protecting average Americans. And the fact that President Trump yesterday screamed at the states that had begun to process food stamp benefits for beneficiaries, ‘ordering’ them to reverse course, will be a gift to Dems that just keeps on giving. I think Americans will remember.
We have attached the 3 continuing approps bills (discussed above) again for your convenience.
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MAP SHOWS WHERE SNAP BENEFIT DELAYS WILL HIT HARDEST IN NYS
Gift article from the Albany Times Union, 11/10
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Democrats Were on a Roll. Why Stop Now?
Ezra Klein, 11/10, NY Times Opinion
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New Yorkers beginning to receive November SNAP benefits, despite federal memo to pause NY Focus, 11/10
* New York has begun sending out full federal food assistance benefits, despite an overnight order from the Trump administration that called for states to “immediately undo” payments, Gothamist reports.
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NY Times, 3:42 am
Late last night, the Senate moved toward ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
A group of eight Democrats broke with their party to vote with Republicans, 60-40, to start the process of clearing the gridlock that has shuttered the government for more than a month, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, millions at risk of losing food assistance and millions more stuck at airports.
The spending agreement will still need to be debated and passed by the Senate, approved by the House and signed into law by President Trump.
Here’s what we know right now:
The spending agreement would fund the government through the end of January and give federal workers back pay.
It would not automatically extend health care tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year, greatly increasing premiums for millions of Americans. Democrats spent weeks arguing that those subsidies were a crucial piece of any agreement. The deal allows the Senate to vote on them later. If they pass, they still may not survive a vote in the House.
It would reverse layoffs of federal workers made during the shutdown.
Senate Democrats who joined Republicans said the shutdown had become unsustainable. “A lot of people are being hurt,” said Senator Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats and voted to reopen the government. They pointed to the growing chaos at airports and suspended food stamp benefits for low-income families.
But many in the party were livid at the eight senators who backed down, primarily because the deal does not protect health care subsidies. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, said House Democrats could not back the deal for that reason.
“Donald Trump and the Republican Party own the toxic mess they have created in our country, and the American people know it,” he said in a statement.
Next, both chambers will take up the spending bill. That should happen in the coming days. Until lawmakers enact it and the president signs it, though, the government remains closed.
Six Takeaways From the Senate Deal to End the Shutdown
For 40 days, Senator Chuck Schumer kept his caucus unified. But an end approached without Democrats achieving an extension of expiring health insurance subsidies.
Michael Gold
By Michael Gold, NY Times
Reporting from the Capitol, NY Times
Nov. 10, 2025
Updated 3:47 a.m. ET
After more than a month of stalemate, the Senate on Sunday took a crucial step toward reopening the government, when a small but critical group of Democrats broke from their party and voted with Republicans to advance legislation that would end the longest government shutdown in history
The shutdown is not over yet. Sunday’s 60-to-40 vote cleared the way for the Senate to formally debate the spending measure before a final vote. If the Senate approves it, the package still must be passed by the House — which has been on an extended recess and has not yet scheduled a return date — and signed by President Trump.
Still, the deal that senators reached on Sunday night reflected important lessons for both parties from the shutdown fight and is likely to have far-reaching policy and political implications long after the government grinds back to life. Here are six takeaways.
For 40 days, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, kept his Democratic caucus unified as a government shutdown stretched into record-breaking territory.
But that discipline couldn’t hold forever, and it broke without Democrats achieving what they insisted was their chief demand in the fight: the extension of health insurance subsidies that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
The group of moderate senators who broke from their party said they could no longer hold out on a deal while Americans suffered the consequences of a shuttered government. And they cited a commitment from Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican leader, that they would at least receive a vote on the tax credits sometime in December.
“This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt,” Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, said in a statement explaining why he backed the deal.
Still, the promise of a vote does not guarantee that legislation will be passed. In fact, any measure to address health care subsidies faces long odds in a Republican-controlled Congress and given President Trump’s frequent broadsides against the Affordable Care Act.
As a result, the deal put bitter Democratic divisions on display. Mr. Schumer tersely told reporters that he would not vote for the bill because it lacked health care provisions, and he voiced objections on the Senate floor.
House Democrats, including the minority leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, blasted the deal as insufficient.
“House Democrats have consistently maintained that bipartisan legislation that funds the government must also decisively address the Republican health care crisis,” he said in a statement.
Representative Ro Khanna of California went a step further, saying that Mr. Schumer “is no longer effective and should be replaced.”
“If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?” he said in a social media post.
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AXIOS, 11/10
Driving the news: The promised Senate vote on the ACA, on a bill of Democrats’ choosing, is set to occur by the end of the second week in December, per a source familiar.
That sets up a crucial period during which senators could delink the enhanced tax credits from government funding and try to reach a deal on eligibility changes that are more acceptable to Republicans.
The source, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussions, said Democrats will “move swiftly” to take Republicans up on their pledges to negotiate once the government is reopened “and hold them accountable in the public eye if they refuse to engage in good faith.”
But an ACA deal still faces difficult odds, especially now that President Trump has weighed in against an extension and proposed sending the money directly to consumers to spend on health care as they chose.
Between the lines: The decision by eight moderate senators — including Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Angus King (I-Maine) — to support reopening the government without concrete action on the subsidies prompted blowback from other Democrats.
“That’s not a deal. It’s an unconditional surrender that abandons the 24 million Americans whose health care premiums are about to double,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) wrote on X.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is also opposed to the agreement, saying any government funding deal must extend the ACA tax credits. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also told reporters he would vote no.
The emerging agreement includes a temporary bill to fund the government into late January as well as a package of three full-year spending bills, designed to show progress through the annual appropriations process.
On Sunday night, the Senate voted 60-40 to advance a procedural motion on the deal, with the eight Democrats in favor.
The full-year spending bills include one to fund the Food and Drug Administration.
Even if the Senate backs extending the subsidies, Speaker Mike Johnson has not given a similar commitment for a House vote.
Yes, but: There are some vulnerable Republicans in both chambers who support action on the subsidies, if there are changes like capping the income of eligible recipients or anti-fraud measures.
Republicans in tight reelection races are wary of the prospect of ACA premiums more than doubling in an election year.
Before the shutdown breakthrough, President Trump spent a good part of the weekend posting on Truth Social that money that’s being spent on Affordable Care Act subsidies now should be sent directly to consumers.
Why it matters: Trump’s statement in a Truth Social post Saturday — followed by others amplifying the point on Sunday — put further pressure on Republicans to reject Democratic demands to extend the enhanced ACA tax credits.
Between the lines: Republicans and think tanks have suggested changes along similar lines.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate health committee, last week proposed redirecting the ACA tax credit money into pre-funded federal flexible spending accounts.
And the conservative Paragon Health Institute has proposed letting low-income Americans put part of their ACA subsidy money into health savings accounts to give them more choice and control over how they spend their money.
That’s closer to what Trump suggested in a Sunday post: “Republicans should give money DIRECTLY to your personal HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS that I expanded in our GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.”
Paragon president Brian Blase told Axios in an email that he reads Trump’s original post as “an acknowledgement that the status quo is not working and more subsidies directly to insurers will not make coverage more affordable or reduce underlying health care costs.”
The other side: Democrats, who had been holding out for a straight extension of the ACA subsidies, have made it clear they’re not interested in making changes as a tradeoff.
“This is, unsurprisingly, nonsensical,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) posted on X. “Is he suggesting eliminating health insurance and giving people a few thousand dollars instead? And then when they get a cancer diagnosis they just go bankrupt?”
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Politico, 11/10
THE BEGINNING OF THE END: We have movement. After 40 days and 40 nights of a truly biblical government shutdown, the Senate last night moved forward with a procedural vote that should mean this record-breaking crisis is finally coming to an end. What replaces it this morning is the eruption of an ugly Democratic civil war, as the party rips itself to shreds for dealing across the aisle. More on that in just a sec.
First, some quick facts: The government is still closed for now. The Senate will pick back up at 11 a.m. and requires more votes to get its side done. The numbers are there, but the timetable remains uncertain. The House then needs to pass the bill, with Speaker Mike Johnson targeting Wednesday for a single-day vote. He should be able to get it through, but it’ll be tight. Plenty of people now believe the government will be open by the end of this week. POLITICO’s Inside Congress has more on the shutdown endgame
Which means: Hundreds of thousands of federal workers should soon be returning to (paid) work … Adelita Grijalva should soon be getting sworn in … an Epstein Files vote could soon be hitting the floor of the House … along with a bill to ban members from trading stocks and shares … airplane travel might actually improve next week … and there’s even half a chance your Playbook author’s four-year-old gets to see a T-Rex this weekend. We live in hope.
Under the terms of the agreement, the federal government will be funded in full through the end of January, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney reports. Certain key agencies and programs — including the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs; the FDA; and the operation of Congress — will be funded for the entire fiscal year. SNAP funding will be restored. Russ Vought’s mass reductions in force are off the table for now. And Dems will get a Senate vote next month on extending Obamacare subsidies — with zero guarantee of success.
So yeah — the Dems caved. Or at least, a few of them did. This was not, officially, a leadership-backed deal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, still under immense pressure from his party’s base to show stronger opposition to Trump, voted against the deal — although plenty of his opponents believe he did so with a nod and a wink.
For the record: Eight members of the Democratic Caucus did vote with Republicans last night, bringing the magic number to a filibuster-defying 60 votes. Three of them — John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and independent Angus King of Maine — have been voting to end the shutdown since early last month. They were joined by Dick Durbin of Illinois — the only member of leadership to back the deal and who is notably retiring next year — Tim Kaine of Virginia, who represents 150,000 federal workers, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire (also retiring next year), Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.
Six degrees of separation: As POLITICO’s Katherine Tully-McManus notes, “there are few obvious threads connecting the group who broke the partisan impasse.” But one point certainly unites them: “None are up for reelection in 2026.”
Which is probably for the best. Because the Democratic base is seething.
Sellouts: Liberal social media is on fire this morning, with activists, pressure groups and wannabe Democratic senators and presidents falling over one another to condemn the deal in ever-louder terms. Panelists on MSNBC were banging the drum against it last night, some calling for Schumer to face the heat. Instantly, it feels like a purity test — nobody hoping to get anywhere in Democratic circles right now is permitted to be anything other than outraged.
A few examples: “Pathetic,” said the current top potential 2028 candidate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, who may fancy himself for higher office. Rising stars and Senate hopefuls like Mallory McMorrow, James Talarico and Graham Platner all condemned the deal. Influencers like Hasan Piker are livid. I’m sure you can guess what Bernie Sanders and co. make of it all.
Politics is a rough sport: Despite having played a surprisingly savvy shutdown game, and despite voting against the deal last night, Schumer is still bearing the brunt of blame. The complaint is that Dems stuck this out for 40 days and were actually winning — but then caved for nothing more than the promise of a pointless Senate vote that had already been on the table. Critics claim Schumer either pulled the strings behind the scenes to get the deal done — or is now so unable to lead his caucus that he could not keep them in line.
In truth, it’s more nuanced than that: Clearly Dems did not achieve their primary goal. They wake up divided and angry this morning, the momentum of Tuesday’s election victories a distant memory. But in the long, painful history of government shutdowns, the party seeking concessions has never achieved its goals. Like, never. There was a chance it happened this time, had a frustrated Trump decided to pull the rug on the GOP leadership — but despite some severe wobbling in the White House as the election results rolled in, he focused on the filibuster instead.
But the idea that Dems come away with nothing is overly harsh. First, Democrats achieved their primary political objective — showing a furious base that they can actually work together effectively and are prepared to fight with every tool at their disposal. That presumably helped energize Democratic voters in last week’s elections, which turned into a blowout in line with the party’s wildest dreams.
Secondly, they did so while overcoming all the received wisdom in D.C. — that the party demanding concessions bears the brunt of the shutdown blame. A massive new data set shared with Playbook — an 8,000-person poll undertaken last month by Stack Data Strategy — confirms it: A hefty 52 percent of Americans blamed either Republicans in Congress or Trump himself for the shutdown, the poll shows — versus 34 percent who blamed Democrats. Even 40 percent of registered Republicans blamed Republicans or Trump for the shutdown.
Thirdly, and most importantly, Dems have put the Obamacare subsidies squarely on the political map — and drawn a clear political dividing line between the two parties, over a highly salient issue. Next month Republicans will have to choose between finding some sort of solution — their own “cave-in” moment — or very publicly voting down an extension, just a few weeks before the subsidies run out. Neither option sounds great.
And the polling on extending the subsidies is extraordinary. A whopping 71 percent of Americans in Stack’s poll said they were concerned about the subsidies ending. That is a mountain of public opinion for Trump and the GOP leadership to overcome. And it includes more than 50 percent of self-identified “MAGA Republicans.”
The broader context is a population feeling the pinch. The cost of living was by far voters’ top concern, as it has been in so many other polls through 2025. Some 38 percent of Americans said they were financially worse off than a year ago, versus only 20 percent who said they were better off. Most said they expect prices to rise further over the coming year. These are not people in the mood to absorb massive increases in premiums.
Yet the White House, so far, is leaning in to Trump’s response to cost-of-living attacks, which is to tell voters prices have come down. A graphic pushed out by the White House social media team on Friday stated: “Despite Democrat lies, President Trump has excelled in improving affordability in his first nine months,” listing individual items — eggs, gas, etc. — which got cheaper in 2025. But the history of politicians telling struggling voters they’re better off than they think they are is not a happy one. It clearly struck a chord with former Joe Biden campaign chief Rob Flaherty, as this meme shows.
On Obamacare: With open enrollment newly underway, “there is little discussion about the one group set to feel the full brunt of the premium increases: hundreds of thousands of legal, taxpaying immigrants,” POLITICO’s Robert King and Alice Miranda Ollstein report this morning. “A provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Republicans passed in July strips all Obamacare subsidies from low-income lawfully present immigrants — those authorized to work and live in the country but unable to qualify for Medicaid yet. This could result in 300,000 people losing coverage next year because they can’t afford it,” according to the nonpartisan CBO.